"American Idol" gives Fox Tuesday win

By James Hibberd

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Reality shows jockeyed for position Tuesday night, including the debut of CBS' "Secret Talents of the Stars" and the second week of Fox's "Hell's Kitchen."

Fox won the night with 17.8 million viewers, but flagship show "American Idol" (24 million viewers) was off from 26.1 million last week, continuing its downward trajectory this season.

The "Idol" dip barely impacted "Hell's Kitchen" at 9 p.m. (11.7 million vs. 11.85 million last week). The performance suggests that, with a little help from "Idol," Fox's usual summer series might be able to maintain a consistent top-shelf performance in spring.

ABC (10.7 million) was led by a season-low "Dancing With the Stars" results show (16.5 million vs. 17.3 million last week), which saw the ejection of radio humorist Adam Carolla. It was bookended by the finale of "Just for Laughs" (5.6 million) and "Boston Legal" (10.2 million).

NBC (8.9 million) had a good night in second place, with "The Biggest Loser" (9.1 million vs. 8.2 million last week). Its "Law & Order: SVU" repeat won the 10 p.m. hour (8.6 million).

CBS (8.2 million) saw the debut of "Secret Talents" come in last place in the 10 p.m. hour (8.3 million) and below the recent average set by "Jericho." Up against "Idol" for the second time this season, the return of "NCIS" hit a season low (13.9 million) while "Big Brother" was on par (6.3 million).

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter